Process and apparatus for producing slate shingles or the like



Oct. 6, 1953 E. T. LAKE 2,554,358

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLATE SHINGLES OR THE LIKE Filed April 28. 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet l s? k) R? /nvenf0r Eugene I La/re By hlls'aflorneys Oct. 6, 1953 E. T. LAKE 2,654,358

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLATE SHINGLES OR THE LIKE 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 28 1950 //7 van for Eugene 7.'L0/re By his attorneys MMJM Oct. 6, 1953 E. T. LAKE 2,654,358

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLATE SHINGLES OR THE LIKE Filed April 28, 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 lm/emar Eugene 2' Lake By his aflorneys I i l I l Oct. 6, 1953 E. T. LAKE 2,654,358

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLATE SHINGLES OR THE LIKE Filed April 28, 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 lnvenfor- 7 Eugene 7.10/09 By Ms attorneys Oct. 6, 1953 E. T. LAKE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLATE SHINGLES OR THE LIKE 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 28. 1950 //7ve/7/0r Eugene I L alre By his a/fomeys Oct. 6, 1953 E. T. LAKE 2,654,358

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLATE SHINGLES OR THE LIKE Filed April 28, 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 //7 vemer Eugene I Lake By his af/ameys Oct. 6, 1953 E. T. LAKE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLATE SHINGLES OR THE LIKE 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed April 28, 1950 9 g Q Q Oct. 6, 1953 E. T. LAKE 2,654,358

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLATE SHINGLES OR THE LIKE Filed April 28, 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Chisel Approach afS/afe Bloc/r 5/0/ for z Level 01' bottom of S/a/e Bloc/r /nvehf0r Eugene 7.'Lake 6/ 68 By his aflo rneys Patented Oct. 6, 1953 UNITED STATE ATENT OFFICE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLATE SHINGLES OR THE LIKE 23 Claims. 1

My invention relates to a process for producing slate shingles or the like from quarried slabs, and apparatus for carrying out that process. The production of commercial slate from slabs taken out of a quarry has always been a slow process involving mostly skilled hand work and a tremendous waste of raw material. The object of my invention is to speed up the process of producing commercial slate from quarried slabs and to reduce the waste. It is characteristic of my invention that one of the first stages of the process is to saw the block in a plane substantially at right angles to the primary planes of cleavage and the grain, so as to give substantially one of the dimensions of the desired shingle, and thereafter to carry out the remaining steps successively on a series of splitting machines.

' In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a flow sheet diagram of a process 0.1. producing slate shingles from quarried slabs according to my invention, in which the raw material is shown in perspective on the face in which it enters and leaves each machine, the showing in the dotted circle indicating that the squared block is turned up on edge as it enters the blocker;

Fig. 2 is a simplified diagrammatic plan view of the arrangement of the apparatus in a saw mill according to my invention, the approximate location of the operators being indicated by circles;

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the juncture of the two conveyors between the saws and the first mechanical splitting machine which is known as the sculper, this view of my apparatus showing a sawn strip waiting at the juncture until the sculper operator is ready for it;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the parts of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view in front elevation of the sculper of Figs. 1 and 2, showing the two chisel blades:

Fig. 6 is a view in elevation across the conveyor between the sculper and the second mechanical splitting machine which is known as the blocker, the view showing the dumper at the left and being taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a side elevation of the dumper of Fig. 6

Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation of the indicator which operates the dumper, the view showing the upper part of the indicator chain belt moving in the direction of the conveyor;

Fig. 9 is a view in end elevation of the blocker of Figs. 1 and 2, the hydraulic connections being largely omitted and also the abutment mechanism appearing at the left of Fig. 10. The view shows blocks at four stages of progress through the machine;

Fig. 10 is a view in front elevation of the blocker, partly broken away to show the abutment and upending mechanism. The hydraulic connections are largely omitted;

Fig. 11 is a diagram of the hydraulic elements and connections of the blocker, the pressure lines being shown with heavy lines;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the abutment stop and is a horizontal view partly in section through the abutment plate of the blocker showing the abutment stop and the lever of the block pilot valve;

Fig. 13 is a plan View of the third type of mechanical splitting machine which is known as the splitter;

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of the sorting conveyors between the blocker and the splitters; and

Fig. 15 is a plan view of part of the chain belt of the dumper;

Fig. 16 is a view of a detail from Fig. 11 taken on the line of the right slider finger of Fig. 11 looking to the left, showing the tappets actuated by the chisel slider and which change the setting. of the lifter cylinder valve and the four-way abutment-valve;

Fig. 17 is a view in vertical elevation of the face of the chisel housing plate showing the relative positions of the chisel, the block pilot valve lever and the abutment stop.

The production of slate shingles from quarried slabs has been, from time immemorial, essentially a hand process requiring highly-skilled labor. It also has been very slow because of the weight and size of the raw material. In addition, the process has been carried out in such a manner that considerably more than half of the slate brought out of the quarry was wasted and broken up.

Slate is characterized by its fissility, i. e., the quality that enables it to be split in planes of cleavage which produce substantially smooth faces. In addition to the primary planes of cleavage used to produce these faces, slate also has secondary planes of cleavage known as the grain.

The grain is found in planes that are substantially perpendicular to the primary planes of cleavage. The splits made on these planes by the present methods are somewhat irregular. A quarried block of slate is a large slab that may weigh up to several tons and has two comparatively smooth faces on the primary lines of cleavage. The outline of the slab is generally foursided but quite irregular because of the exigencies of quarrying it. A typical slab I as received from the quarry is shown in Fig. 1. Heretofore such a 3 slab has generally been reduced to size where it can be handled by first splitting it along the grain 2 by means of a hand splitting process. cassionally this has been by a single-bladed saw. The resulting block thereafter was handled by sawing and hand splitting or by hand splitting alone. It will be noted that the block has not been reduced to either dimension of the desired final commercial shihgl'ezby thfs'lsplitting along the grain. Sometimes, instead of splitting with the grain, the slab is broken across the grain.

This is a difficult operation and produces only all rough break. Where I speakeof slate or. thelike it will be understood that I" refer tqaii 'stcne which has primary or secondary planes of cleav age similar to slate. Such stone is either slate;

or other non-lamellar fissile roelg. granite. is, another such stone. Where I speak" of shingles,

I refer not only to roofing shingles but also t'oialli.

considerable width is reciprocated very rapidly against the slate on the natural or primary. lines of cleavage. Experiments have shown that this produces almost, instantaneous splitting. When the rapidity of this operation is compared withsawing, it will be seen that these splitting machines perform, their Work very much faster. I haye found, however, thatconsidering the entire slatesplitting process, the, greatest consumption of time is in handling the bulky and heavy raw sawing. operation is performedonly acrossthe g'rainwhere there usually are no planes or cleavage, and as a single operation, andcl-have provided. nieansby. which the raw. material ishandl'ed-fiitirely by. machinery 'until it is reduced to a size thatcanbe easily manipulated by hand. I do this in such a Way. that loss of material from every cause is minimized. It should also .be. noted that according to my process no splitis. longer than thelen'gth of a shingle, and thatinthe soul-ping. stage. the split by eachchisel isonly. half thesingle' leng'th. This also minimizes the chances of a split running off.v It is anfecono'mie ea-l process and'one by which, in contrast to conditions'lheretofore; the splitting mill can work all tlie'year' lblil'ld: All three types or stages of sliili-ttfrlg in process are done by machine.

Where I use the work sculping I mean splitting or 'fracturing along or on the grain.

With the majority of quarry and splitter operators it is the opinion of those engaged in the art that slate which has been out of the quarry long enough-for the sap to dry cannot be split; "I have found that this is not true when slate is split by splitting machines having recipro'eato'ry'ch-isels such as shown in the Lake Patent 1,590,385 above mentioned, particularly when the blade is reciprocated at high rates and ac c mately aligned with the cleavage planes and advanced by strong pressure from the cylinder 42 toward the block, as shown. innthat patent. This .combinedactionoccurs all threeof my types of splittingmachines. Thisinabilityt'o split dry. slate is also not true when the material is. manipulated as hereinafter .set forth. y process. makes, it. possible, therefore, for; the quarry to work throughthe summer and fall of the year getting out slate slabs and storing them for splitting at any time in the year, or even years later., 1

Sawing across the grain According to my process, the first stage or step is for the foreman of the shop to examine the slab and determine what lengths of shingles, i. e., widths of strip, can be produced most economically from that particular slab in the light of any flaws such as ribbons. These cuts are not in theprimary planes of cleavageor in the directionof theigrairtjbut aresubstantially at right angles to those two planes, namely, in a direction substantially mutually perpendicular to those two planes. Since such strips 3 are produced by cuttingforrlihesilfiihl'planes that correspond to neither the primary nor the secondary planes Qifileavage, I use circular saws 5, 6 to make saw on top of the carriage drives the saw by means of a chain. The slate is placed on one or more cars IE on railroad tracks H, the cars being capable of being' 'm oved into position under the girder and adjusted with relation to the saw by a 'ratchet lever (not shown) working on one of the; axles of the car. This lever is detachable and can be used on either car. The carriage 8' material. I have devised a process inuwhich the is feclacrossjthe slateby a motor (not shown) on oneof the supporting columns H. The saw may be used to make cuts 4 on the slab or slabs on two cars on two tracks on the same traverse, if desired. It is also possible to use two cars in alternation, loading one while unloading the other. It isalso possibleto have some cars loading, some having their loads sawn, some being unloaded and others at thedump. After a traverse the saw blade isreturned .toits initial positionand the car or cars adjusted for another cut. After all cuts have been made the car or cars are unloaded and taken. away for dumping of the unused pieces- I prefer to use ahydraulic motor for thefeeding of the saw because this prevents the, saw from jumping as it cuts through the hard spots mthe slab, andfurther because the control for various speeds is simpler than .a mechanical control. These hydraulic controls consist simply of fiowcontrol valves, that can beadjusted for all speeds, from stand-still to maximum, and reversing valves. Thehydraulic supply comes from a unit lZwhich also, supplies the three types of splitting machines, the conveyors, the trimmers,

etc. in my apparatus. (see Fig.2). For this purposel have three pipe lines+-pressure line I3, return line H to tank, anddrain line 55.

As indicated above, the shop foreman has marked .the block for cutting along such lines] as are indicated inFig. 1 by dash lines onthe slab I. These lines are normally spaced apart distances which can correspond to the lengths of theshihgles in the finished products. They may vary in spacing according to natural or quarry ing defects in the slab. It will be seen that, as described, the grain 2 of the finished shingle runs from top to bottom, but it should be understood that, if desired, the cuts made by the saw can be adjusted to give the width of the shingle, in which case the grain in the finished article will run crossways of the shingle. The foreman varies the widths of the strips that are to be sawn from the slab in accordance with the most economical use of the material, in avoiding any imperfections in the slab and in accordance with the needs of the mill. The foreman therefore must be skilled in quarrying and splitting slate.

I have found that it is possible and highly desirable to make multiple cuts. Thus, in starting to split the slab shown in Fig. 1, both sides of the strip are sawn simultaneously. For this purpose I mount a second saw 5 in an adjustable manner, parallel to the first saw. By means of having short slides of tracks between the two columns l'l supporting the saws, and by providing hydraulic means, this second saw and its girder can be moved toward and away from the first blade to vary the distance between the blades to correspond to the shortest and longest shingle lengths that it may be desired to make. The two saws, of course, are capable of moving in a direction across the grain of the slabs simultaneously. Each saw is supplied with a line is carrying cooling water from a water supply pump it and with return drains (not shown). Grit or sand can also be supplied, if desired. Electric and hydraulic controls are all brought down to the floor to a position is convenient for the operator.

In connection with the sawing operation, I provide a travelling crane 2H, controlled from the floor, that can load and unload the rail cars it! and carry material to any point in the building. The crane can also be used to arrange or rearrange the splitting machines and conveyors to suit manufacturing requirements.

When the foreman is ready to load the cars, he will select the slabs I and have them loaded by a crane or other means onto one or two cars. These slabs are so placed that the grain 2 lies in the direction of the cars length parallel to the railroad tracks and crossing the path of the two saws. The slabs are secured in place on the cars by backing up with pieces of stone or filling in the spaces with wedges or quicksetting plaster. Steel bars can sometimes be used if the top of the car is perforated. The foreman marks with chalk the place where he wants the cuts 4 to be made, and then the car is worked under the saws so that the first cut is located under the saw that is on the far side from the loading side. This is the saw that is fixed lengthwise of the rail tracks H. The movable saw is then located in the desired position for the second cut. As soon as either saw is in the right position relatively to the slab, that saw may be started. If two cars having the same spacing of cuts have been loaded, the second one may be put into position alongside the first car and the two slabs cut on the one traverse. As soon as the cars are in position, they can be locked to the rails. Upon completion of the first traverse, each saw automatically returns to its initial position, the cars are repositioned and two new cuts are made. The sawing being a slow operation, it will be seen that having two outs made at the same time and properly spaced, saves time.

When the slab or slabs have been completely out, the cars can be moved to an unloading point before any of the slab are taken Then the sawn strips can either be lifted by the crane or o conveyor M, or if the strips are not put directly on the conveyor, they can be placed on the storage pile. as soon as the cars have been removed from the sawing position, another car or cars are moved in and sawing of more. slabs can be started. As heretofore mentioned, while the sawmill is adapted to handle shingles of different lengths at the same time, and also several widths if desired, the mil1 may be working on orders for only certain sizes. The strips of those particular sizes may be loaded directly onto the conveyor. The remaining strips will be stored until their particular sizes are in demand. The crane may also bring from the storage space strips heretofore made that are according to the size being worked on at the moment.

Machine sculping on the grain The sawn strips are placed on the conveyor 2! with their primary cleavage planes lying horizontally. They are now ready to be split on the grain into squared blocks whose dimensions correspond to the widths or lengths of the shingles plus allowance for trimming at the end of the process, if such trimming is desired.

I use a mechanical splitting machine which I call the sculper 2% for this operation. The strip is lying on its broadest face as the conveyors 2!, 25 bring it up to the sculper.

The conveyor 25 may consist of two rows 22, 2.3 of rollers, side by side. Each row is separately driven and the relative speeds of the rows can be varied as needed to straighten out a strip. It should be noted that each strip may weigh as much as two or more tons. This conveyor may be operated from the control position [9 at the saws. This enables the saw operator to move a strip away from. the saws when he is finished with it. In order that the operator at the sculping machine may be able to manipulate one strip at a time and only when he is ready for it, and thus be able to give a strip short and accurate movements in positioning it for cutting, I use two conveyors between the saws and the sculping machine. The last roller 2 on conveyor 2| may be a free one, not power-driven. It is slightly higher than the rollers of the second power conveyor 25. The sculper operator can operate either conveyor 2i or 25 from his own control station l28 (Fig. '5). The eight controls at this station are assigned as followstwo for the roller rows of the far conveyor 2|, two for operating the two chisels, two for changing the elevation of the chisels, and two for the roller rows of the near conveyor. When a sawn strip is pushed onto the free roller 24 until its center of gravity is beyond the roller, it tips up and stops. It is now off the first conveyor 2| and that conveyor 2| can be operated without interfering with the second conveyor 25. The sculper operator can get this strip by starting conveyor 25, or if no strip is there, he can advance conveyor 2! till one arrives.

In somewhat the same manner as in the machine shown in the Lake Patent 1,590,385 above referred to, the sculping machine contains a chisel which reciprocates rapidly, giving a hammering or splitting action. In distinction to mechanical splitting machines such as that shown in the said Lake patent, I prefer to provide my sculper 26 with two power-driven chisels 21 adapted to operate simultaneously on the two opposite sawn sides 28 of the strip 3 at points opposite each other. The chisels are driven by rotating hammers and advanced withdrawn by hydraulic cylinders d2.

While the grain 2 shown in Fig. 1 is irregular, I find that by splitting from two sides of the strip simultaneously, the split from each chisel has to go only half way, so the splitting is kept straighter 7 than wouldloethecaseif it were donerfrom only one side. The operaton-at 'the'isculping machine should have-a knowledge :of slate and the-market requirements in order to make the most advantageous choices between the -market requirements, on the one hand, a-nd defects anddiscoloration, on the other, as" far as :concerns thesecond dimension of the material. In the example fibeing described, this is the width of the shingle. The chisel blades in the sculperstand vertically and move horizontallyyas canbe seen from 'iEig;-5. I do not claim in this application the idea of a sculping machine having two blades working opposite each otheryexcept inconnection=with-the other apparatus used in 'carrying out my process. The first out "which theblades make cuts Cir-the 'lea'dingragge'd endZ-Qof the strip3. This ragged end useless 'for making shingles and must be disposed of. The cutting is done by-causing the two blades toapproachthe-strip until their-edges touchthe sides. Then the operator causes the blades to press strongly against the-strip. Ihis causes-the hammering action to commence. As soon as a split is started, the chiselsfollowit up, hammering --when necessary, and'onlyas necessary, tokeep-thesplitting operation going. If a chisel meets a' s'pot that is hard to split, the chisel --will* wait at that position but will continue hammering. *There is-no danger-of overloading the blade because it is =advanced by a limited pressure in-a hydraulic cylinder.

If this-does not'cause'the stone to split on a =line between the edges of the two chisels, --the operator canb'ring a grooving action into play by causingthe blade'and hammer to riseand-fall -while hammering continues. This is done by the cylinder I21 controlled-from the station 123. This action imitates that of the I work-man in blockingoutwith hismallet and hand chisel. It may beadvisable to"use a narrower blade 39, such as in 'theblocker3l hereinafter described, and cause it to rise and-fall a distance-to make the blade-'cover-the-wholewidth oi the-strip. "In another alternative, the blade may be 'made with an interrupted edge -or=fingers, as described general inthe Vincent *LakePatent 1 229 622, dated June 12, 1917. Provisionin the design'of the machine is made *forth'is. When, in'the judgment of the operator, the two grooves are 'cut deep enough, he causes the blades to press harderagainst-the stone. He thus will-bring about a condition analogous --to that of the wellknown plug and feathers-operation,-exceptthat "instead of one point of application of-the splitting force he-has aninfinite number spreadalong the line of theedge-of the chisel'or the chiselgfingerm and instead of one blow he has thousands. The most advantageous relation of pressureand "blow will haveto be learnedby experience --with any given slate. Thedesign ofthe machine puts these into the controlof the operator.

Dumping machine When a raggednend .29 splits ,off, it dropsonto a roller conveyor. 3 2 going ,to .the blocker" 3 l Qn the conveyor it comes to a dumper 39 (see Fig. 2). 'Thedumper'w is shown in'detailinFlgs. 6, "7, 8 and andis constructed as follows. In the conveyor 32 at a point between the sculper-26 and the blocker 3| is a lifter Bl with three arms 82. This lifter 8| in effect divides the conveyor *into two sections. Thesearms are rotated around a horizontal axisby a worm and a gear'83. and. a shaft 84 from a'motor85. Thesearmspassup- *wardly "between the conveyor sections as they Y rise. Normally .one of these arms stops a horizontal position in the conveyor 32. "Thereis a plurality of rolis fifi on top of eacharmt-Z of .theilifter similarand parallel to the-rolls i-n the conveyor. .Unless a piece of stone is to be dumped, these rolls fifi on the dumper .are level with the rolls in the conveyor, and merely permit thestone toypasson to the blocker 3|.

*When. it is desired to discard a ragged end2-9 .OIIOthGI piece of stone which is on the-rolls of .an arm =82 of the lifter, the lifter isturned through say 120. This tips up the rolls-86 and the ragged .end 29 is lifted with them. -When lifted to about .45", the stone will slide :toward the hub of the'lifter and rest against what was the bottom of the preceding arm 82 of the lifter. This preceding arm, however, has turned say 15 beyond the horizontal so that its bottom is now on top. On the bottom of each arm- 821 provide aseries of discharge rolls BT-lying crossways of the arm rather than lengthwise like the top rolls 86. Therefore when the ragged end 2%) iallsonto these discharge rolls 5?, it will slide on the arm easily into a chute or any other-desired disposal means as soon as the arm slopes slightly downward into dotted position at the left of'Fig. 6.

It is desirable to operate the conveyor :32 and dumper 3| alternately. Thus when a piece of stone to be discardedarrives on thetoprollsfifi of the lifter, the conveyor32 must be stoppedand the lifter started. When the lifter has turned 120 and ejected the stone as above described, .the lifter must bestopped with arm -82-following athe-one =that lifted-the stone intheconveyor with its top rolls fit" in line with the-rolls oi the zconveyor. Simultaneously the conveyor can be started again. =Both the-du-mper motor 35 and the conveyor motor (not shown) are controlled -:in-the-first instance from athree-way fluid valve '99 shown in-Fig. 8. Thisvalve is controlled mechanically by the operator of the sculperfifiirom 'hisposition beside the seulper by use of the indicator-shown in--Fig.-:8. The principal elements of the indicator aside from the fiuid valve-9 Spare "a-moving-double chainbelt 83 and steelballs 38 adapted to be carried bythat ehainbelt. When it is desired to dump a piece of stone the sculper operator dropsa'ballsfi on the belt The 'entire operation thereafter is automaticjincluding even stopping the dumper and restarting'the conveyor.

As-shown in-Fig.=l5, the chain belt fls'is double and preferably a forrn of sprocket or bicycle chain. The openings between the solid linkspro- -Vide depressions in which the balls BB can. rest and be held. When apieceof stone, such as a ragged end 29, which is to be-dumped,passesa predetermined point on the conveyortz; the op- =eratordrops a ball-Edonto the chainbelt'B by depressing the lever 9! -of a ball reservoir Sta. The beltis driven by the axles I which drive the .conveyor -32. One of these conveyor axlesis also connected to a conveyor motor (not shown) ;.which.drives the other rolls through aside chain, such as is usedon the'conveyors 2! and 25 leading to the sculper. 0n theconveyor axles are sprocket wheels whoseteeth engage thelinks on one side of the double chain constituting the belt 88. The balls are dropped onto the links on -'the other side of the chain. In Fig. 8 I have shown only two sprockets 89 and 92, the ones between them being omitted for the sake of clarity in the drawing. The sprocket Wheels and chain belt are so arranged relatively to the axles of the wonveyor rollsthattheconveyor rolls advance 9 the stone in one direction while the lower portion of the chain belt between sprockets 99 and 92 moves in the other, as shown by the lowermost arrow in Fig. 8. This indicator chain belt parallels the main conveyor drive (not shown) but is on the opposite side of the conveyor from the main drive. The chain belt is an endless one. It turns upwardly at sprocket 92 and backwardly over additional sprockets at a higher level till over sprocket 89, when it descends to that sprocket. The entire chain belt is confined within the legs of the channel beam constituting one side of the frame of the conveyor. When the chain is at its higher level, I provide small rollers or chain holders 93 to hold it from being forced upwardly any further. To keep a dropped ball 99 in position on the chain, I provide a fixed inner guide 94 that holds a ball in contact with its particular chain link from the time it is dropped onto the chain until the chain is well started on its return at the upper level. Up to this latter point, there has been no play between the chain belt and the guide 9% which would allow the ball to pop out of its nest in its link of the chain. At the point at the upper level where the guide 94 ends it is replaced by an arm 95 pivoted where the guide terminates. The normal spring-pressed angle of the arm is in a slightly upward direction. This spring pressure is obtained from a downwardlydepending lug 99 on the arm resting against a plunger 9'! and spring 98 in the hydraulic valve 99. The advance of the ball depresses the arm and opens the hydraulic valve. As the ball is carried beyond the arm by the chain it falls onto a downward slope I99 which leads to the ball reservoir. In the meantime the arm rises again and returns the piston of the hydraulic valve to extended position.

When the piston 91 is pushed into the valve, fluid is cut off" from the conveyor motor, thereby stopping it. This pushing in of the plunger also furnishes fluid to the lifter motor 85, causing it to commence turning the lifter and turning the stone on the top rolls 85 over into the chute I3I or other disposal means.

In order to permit the dumping cycle to finish and the ball 99 to roll off the pivoted arm 95, thereby permitt ng spring 98 to extend the plunger 9'! and restart the conveyor, I provide the following by-pass means on suitable places on the three arms of the lifter, or on an extension of the lifter shaft. Lugs or cams I29 are provided so placed that just as one of the arms comes level with the conveyor, the plunger of the three-way valve I30 is depressed. This valve is so connected and timed that when the plunger 91 is depressed by the ball on arm 95, causing the valve 99 to stop sending fluid to the conveyor motor, the valve I30 sends fluid to the lifter motor 95. Therefore until the ball is moved ofi of arm 95 the conveyor cannot started through valve 99. This required motion of the conveyor is provided by valve I39 having its plunger depressed by the lugs I29. When this plunger is depressed the motor 85 is partially cut off so as to slow down the shaft 84. This avoids overrunning when it comes to a stop later. In addition, fluid is sent through the valve I 39 to the conveyor motor, which causes the chain 88 to move and carry the ball beyond the end of the arm 95. It then rolls to the reservoir 9Ia. As soon as the ball is ofi of arm 95, the plunger 91 comes out, driven by the spring 98, and the valve 99 is reset to drive the conveyor and fluid is shut off from the valve I39. The cams I29 are so .shaped that at the instant the arm 82 reaches its normal position in line with the conveyor rolls 32, the plunger of valve I39 snaps off of the cam I 29, allowing the spring-pressed plunger to extend. This resets the valve for the next movement of the lifter when called for by an indicator ball again rolling on the arm 95. The laps of the plunger over the ports in valve I 39 are so arranged that fiuid to the motor is not completely cut off until stopped by valve 99, and this is timed by the length of the arm 95 to take place when the rolls 96 are in line with the rolls 32 of the conveyor. Thus, whenever the conveyor is running, the dumper is stationary, and vice versa. The cycle is started by the operator placing a ball in the chain 88 at such a point that the ball passes onto the pivoted arm at the moment that the piece of stone to be dumped reaches the center of the arm 32 of the lifter. As above described, after the lifter is turned indicator means leaves the next arm in normal relation with the conveyor and resets the valves so that the lifter stops and the conveyor is once more running. The distance measured on the chain belt from the point where the ball drops onto the chain to the point where it depresses the lever 95 can be made to correspond to the length of time that it will take the ragged end 29 to reach the top rolls 96.

After the ragged end 29 has been split off, the operator causes the sawn strip 3 to feed through a distance equal to a Width of a commercial slate. He can exercise some judgment as to which width to use, dependent upon the positions of defects or ribbons in the stone. He must know thoroughly all the permissible widths for each length of slate so that he can make his decision quickly. These cuts give him a squared block 35. He follows the same procedure for the rest of the strips. The last split leaves a ragged end which may be disposed of as the front end. He then brings in the next strip that has been waiting on the free roller 24 where conveyors 2i and 2-5 meet.

Blocking machine The squared blocks 35 are carried forward by the conveyor 32 to the next splitting machine in my system, namely, the blocker 9|. This, too, may be generally like the Vincent F. Lake machine of Patent 1,590,385 above mentioned, but I have improved upon that machine. The blocks as they come up to the blocking machine weigh up to 359 lbs., and therefore in many cases are still too heavy to be handled conveniently by man-power. However, the splitting operations remaining to be performed on the blocks Will be in the primary plans of cleavage. I have found that it produces considerable breakage to attempt to split large slate blocks when the planes of cleavage are horizontal and the slates are relatively thin. It also is generally inconvenient to arrange the splitting mechanism to operate with the blade horizontal. The tendency to break probably is due to the weight of the block producing uneven strains on the top and bottom parts where the block is being split. It is therefore desirable to upend the block with its primary planes of cleavage vertical. This brings the cleavage planes paralled to the chisel. I have shown in Fig. 9 means to turn the block on edge by machine. This block-turning mechanism is preferable except when making very small shingles.

Block turning mechanism 7 The block-turning mechanism of the blocker has an L-shaped carrier 33 which actually doeS the turning. The carrier is shown in Fig. 9 in dotted lines in its loading position where the left leg is'down toward the sculper and the right leg is in a vertical direction. In its operating position the left leg of the carrier is up in a vertical position, the right leg being horizontal and facing toward the chisel 39 of the blocker, Both legs are equipped with rollers 34 to facilitate moving blocks onto and off the carrier. The 90 turn from loading to operating position serves to turn the block into a position in which the primary cleavage planes are vertical. The upending and lowering movements of the carrier are given iit by a hydraulic upender cylinder 36 through its segmental gears 37 (Fig. 9). This upender hydrauliic cylinder is operated by the control means shown in Fig. 11 with power obtained from a hydraulic power unit I2. As already mentioned, the power unit I2 is connected to all the hydraulic elements of my apparatus by three house lines, the power line IS, the return line it and the drain I (see Figs. 2 and 11).

While the squared block 35 from the sculper is loaded onto the carrier 33 by shoving it from the conveyor 32 by hand, all the feeding, splitting and eject n p at ons in e blocker are utomatic. The only control on this machine that the operator needs to manipulate is the manual starter valve 5| shown in Figs. 9 and 11.

When the squared block 35 has been upended till its primary planes of cleavage are vertical, the next operation is to shove the block to the right, as viewed in Fig. 9, until it is in proper relation to the splitting chisel 35. The pushing is done by three pusher plates 52 and pusher levers 55 that rise in back of the block after it has been upended.

In order that these elements may be below the level of the incoming conveyor 32 and the left leg of the carrier 53 while the block is being shoved onto the carrier, the plates and levers are carried on a vertically sliding frame IBI ('Fig. Fastened to this frame is a horizontal bracket I02 supporting a common shaft IE3 at a distance to the left. of the line of the sliding frame and cylinder. This shaft operates the pusher levers 55. These three levers are spaced across the width of the machine opposite the squared block 35, as can be seen in Fig. 10. The upper end of each lever is fulcrumed to one of the vertical pusher plates 52 at a button Iild. These buttons slide in slots I85 in the upper ends of the levers 55. These slots permit the levers to push the plates in a horizontal straight line, although they themselves have an arcuate component of movement. The plates work in guides I06 connected at the right end to the carrier 33.

To move these plates horizontally, the piston It? of the pusher cyliinder 54 is attached to the common shaft I03 in the bracket I02 by a short arm I58 tight 0n the shaft, provision being made at the end of the arm for straight line motion of the pivot in the end of the piston I01. This cylinder iis mounted vertically, with the piston facing downwardly, and is carried by the slidin frame Ifll. In Fig. 9 the pusher levers 55 and pusher plates 52 are shown in their upper left position in solid lines where not behind a plate I89 that is part of the frame of the machine.

The vertical movements of the sliding frame Hit, and therefore of the pusher cylinder 54, are given by the rocking of the carrier 33 through two links I It, one at each side of the machine. These links are dog-leg in shape, with, the lower ends attached to.the lower part of the sliding frame It! in line with the pusher cylinder. The upper ends are pivoted to the left leg or side of the carrier about midway of its length; The two extremes of movement of these links are shown in Fig. 9, the uppermost being their position when the carrier is in operating position and the lower one their position when the carrier is in loading position. At the bend of each dog-leg link is a lug III extending crossways to a position under the edge of a barrier I I2 pivoted on both sides of the frame of the machine at a lev l jus below the left leg of the carrier 33 when in loading position. The pivot point of the barrier is near the pivot point H3 of the carrier, and the free end of the barrier faces toward the conveyor from the sculper. The dimensions of the parts are such that when the carrier is down inloading position the lugs are some distance below the barrier, so the latter lies below the level of the conveyor 32 from the sculper. When the carrier turns up to operating position the barrier H2 is lifted by the lugs III to a position. above the surface of the conveyor where it will prevent a block from the sculper entering the blocker. It remains in this position till the carrier comes down again to loading position.

When the carrier turns to operating position it brings the pusher plates 52 and levers to their horizontally retracted, i.e., left, position just in back of the block in the carrier. This positioning is assisted and set accurately by the pressure which is admitted to the, under side of the piston in the pusher cylinder 54 (see Fig. 11). In this position the short arm I08 connecting the levers 55 and common shaft I03 to the piston I01 of the pusher cylinder 54 is tipped up and the piston fully retracted. When fluid is introduced into the cylinder above the piston, the short arm is depressed and the pusher levers and plates push the squared block to the right into position for splitting, as will be explained hereinafter.

When it is desired to tilt the carrier back to 7 loading position the pusherplates 52 are lowered, turning about the pivot H3 of the carrier. As the button pivots I04 of the plates pass the horizontal position of the carrier they therefore begin to swing to the right, as viewed in Fig. 9. This carries the pusher levers to the right, also thus tending to pull the piston part way out of the cylinder. It will be noted that this occurs regardless of any operationally required vertical movement of the pusher cylinder 54 and the bracket I02. It is therefore necessary to provide some means for by-passing the fluid in the cylinder, both above and below the piston. I use a four way valve II as aby-pass (see Figs. 10 and 11). This is carried on the side of the sliding frame IBI. To operate it I provide a plate cam I I4 so located on the fixed frame of the machine that as the sliding frame moves down, the cam depresses the plunger in the valve. This plate cam is adjustable for timing purposes, and it causes hydraulic connection between the two ends of the pusher cylinder 54. Because the rod attached to the piston I0! occupies part of the space below the piston and there is no corresponding reduction in the space above the piston, any movement forced by the piston will cause a flow from one side to the other through the four-way valve II. This is either in excess of or in deficiency of the space to receive it. I therefore provide a connection 13 in the valve to the house return line M. This connection gives the necessary capacity adjustment either way.

Blocker feeding, splitting and ejecting mechanism I will now describe the operation of the blocker feeding device above set forth. Let us assume that the carrier 33 is in loading position, and the pusher plates 52, pusher levers 55, links H0, sliding frame It! and pusher cylinder d are in their lowest positions. The operator pushes a squared slate block 35 onto the carrier 33 from its waiting position, as shown in dot and-dash lines at the left of this figure. When the block is in satisfactory position against the then-vertical right leg of the carrier, the operator throws the manual lever iii to starting position. He holds the lever in this position until the machine is properly started. He then lets go and the handle automatically goes back to neutral by the action of a spring. The operation of feeding, splitting and ejecting is entirely automatic from now on.

The manual control valve is connected to the upender cylinder 36. Throwing the lever to starting position causes the upender cylinder to begin to swing the carrier 33 from loading to operating position. Acting through the dogleg link I I0, this movement of the carrier causes the sliding frame it! to rise to its upper position. When the frame has risen part way, the plunger of the by-pass valve ii rides off its plane cam IM and the main pusher circuit is established through a four-way pusher valve 53 controlled by the upender gears 31 and a pusher valve I0. When the carrier reaches operating position the pusher plates 52 are in position behind the block and the pusher levers are at the left, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 9. The upender gears 31 have now moved valve 53 to operating position so that fluid may flow into the pusher cylinder under the control of the pusher valve in. The function of the valve It is to cause momentary reversal of the pusher plates 52 when slate is being split. Without such relief there is danger of breaking the slate, etc. ihe pressure port of valve ill is connected to the hydraulic line connecting the abutment valve 68 and the abutment stop valve 61. By this arrangement the abutment valve 8% controls the beginning of the movements of the abutment cylinder i I5 and the'pusher cylinder. The end of the movements for both of those cylinders is when they have pushed the slate block into the desired position. For the pusher cylinder this occurs when the slate block has been pushed against the stops on the lifter 5?. For the abutment cylinder it occurs when the cylinder has pushed the slate block against lever 55.

Both of these motions must be completed before the chisel commences to act on the slate. To provide time for this and also to provide for the control of valve from the motion of the slide carrying the hammer, the stroke of the slide is so adjusted by the tappets 56a that the chisel withdraws on the return stroke about as far hehind the face plate 66 as it advances beyond the face plate on its splitting stroke. Hence the time that the edge of the chisel on its return stroke leaves the slate, until the time that it again meets the slate on the splitting stroke, is a period of time available for placing or locating the block. This part of the cycle of movement of the chisel is known as the overtravel. Tl'llS overtravel is also useful to permit the removal 14 and'replacement of the chisels. For this pur-'- pose the reciprocation of the slide can be controlled by hand manipulation of the valve rod M.

When the lifter 51 commences to swing, which it does as soon as the chisel has entered the slate, it releases the pressure of the stops against the slate. At the same time the pressure of the pusher plates must be released to allow the slate to move sufficiently, about one-half the thickness of the chisel, to reduce the tendency to bend the chisel. This is accomplished through the valve it. This valve is controlled by the turning of the lifter 51. As the lifter starts to turn, the valve 10 reverses the port connections, which reverses cylinder 54, and hence the pusher plates 52 are withdrawn from the slate block. When the lifter 51 swings upward again, the valve 10 is again reversed, resetting it. Then valve 68, under the influence of one of the tappets 68, on the slide, is reversed so that the fluid drives the pusher plates 52 and the abutment plate H7 back to their initial positions, ready to adjust the slate block for another split. The movements of valve 68 take place only during the overtravel.

The blocker is made to split off blocks of the desired thickness beyond the single chisel 89 of the blocker. As a result the production of a block which in thickness is equal to that specificaliy desired, is ensured. This distance should always be an even factor multiple of the final shingle thickness, for a reason that will be explained later. By even factor multiple I mean that the thickness shall be a multiple of the final shingle thickness all of whose factors other than unity are even. Expressed another way, the m ple shall he an integral power of two where u ty is the final shingle thickness. Hereafter, when I refer to a multiple thickness block, I mean one whose thickness is an even factor multiple of the thickness of the desired shingle.

As soon as a block from the sculping machine has been positioned, the chisel t9 begins to operate and splits off a block of the desired thickness. This multiple thickness clock 38 is then laid over on its side by a lifter 5i in the machine and pushed by an ejector 62 onto a conveyor leading to the third type of maohine, the final splitting machine if. After each block 38 of the desired thickness split off from the squared block and disposed of, the remainder of the squared block is pushed into splitting position by the pusher plates 52 and the abutment plate 5 i l operated by pusher cylinder 5t and abutment cylinder IE5. This operation is repeated until the squared block 35 is too thin to make another block 38 of the desired thickness. The chisel hammer action then stops automatically but the lifter end ejector continue and .throw out the last piece of slate. After the squared block has thus been used up and the chisel and hammer have stopped their reciprocation, the carrier is rotated back to loading position by changes in the hydraulic connections with the chisel-hammer mechanism. When the carrier returns to loading position sliding frame, acting through the by-pass valve ii, cuts in the main pusher circuit and the machine stops. The blocking machine is equipped to receive blocks of any length and to adjust itself auto matically to split them.

Hydraulic controls on blocker I will now describe the details of the construction and operation of the hydraulic controls for he p itt ner nd un oad n sect on. of e. e ker 3-1:. As; nhe. ease of he sculp nd. he sp t rs; '12 the p essur f r the chisel is hydraulic. I use a rotating hammer 49 on the; slide 6;! and. between the hydraulic cylinder 42am; the chisel 39;.v Thehammer is driven by a hydraulic motor from, the lines. of the power unit ['2 and controlled; by a flow control valve 53. The hammer cylinder 12; is connected to. the power supply line l3- through a mechanically operated four-way hydraulic, valve 43. controlled by valve rod a l. There is a flow control valve 55 and three-way valve M5. between the supply line and the four-way; valve; 83 to control hammer and chisel movements.

The slideserves to. carry the chisel forward as the split is: made and to. retract it. The slide moves to the left. as viewed in Fig. 11 to carry the chisel into. its splitting action against the k. To Set the limits of'the movement and to reverse it there is. a finger 56. carried by the slide and projecting downward to and: encircling the valve rod 44. This finger slides. on the valve rod. There are two stops 55a on the valve rod, one on either side of the finger 56 and spaced therefrom. When the finger 56 touches one of the stops it moves the valve rod longitudinally which reverses the connections in the valve 43. This changes the fluid connections to the cylinder t2 and the piston in the cylinder and the slide change the direction of their movement. The stops are set so that reversal from the extreme left position occurs when the split has been made in the block and the chisel is to be retracted. The stop in the other direction is located to cause reversal from the extreme position on the right. in Fig. 11 when it is time to advance the chisel toward the slate block for a new split. By placing the right-hand stop 55a to the right of the position shown, the overtravel is increased. These reversals will continue automatically until there is no block opposite the bell crank lever I20 (see Figs. 12 and 17).

These stops on the valve rod i l are preferably set to give a length of stroke which is greater than the length of the split in the slate block. The over-travel from such adjustment permits the blade to withdraw behind the line of the abutment face plate 68 by an amount suflicient to permit valve actions that may be desired at such times.

It might be noted that the driving arrangement I have described gives a peculiarly useful combination of actions of the chisel, as follows. When the slide endeavors to. push the chisel forward it sets up. a pressure on the edge of the slate which causes the chisel to retire into the hammer housing. This. starts the vibration effect because the chisel socket is forced back into a solid relation with the hammer 39. When the pressure on the edge of the chisel becomes less than the strength of the spring l3! around the socket (Fig. the socket is forced outward, pulling it away from contact with the hammer. Thus the hammering automatically stops when not needed. This initial contact almost invari ably produces a slight crack in the slate into which the chisel blade advances owing to the for-quite a; d stanc as th p t sta ts with, thebladec nfine. c ntact w th thebl ch, a maximum number of blows will be. obtained, and. the n mb r o lqws ec e e t n e advances.

Also associated withthe slider All are the tappets [23, I24, hereinafter described. These are so located as to trip the. lifter valve 6! when the chisel has. advanced far enough into the slate block so that it will stand. of itself. The. effect of this is to relieve: any pressure by the lifter on the. block at thesame-time. that the pusher plates withdraw from the slate, thus permitting. the lifter to freely lift the split-off block and deliver it to the ejector. Otherwise there. is danger'that the slate will be broken orthe chisel bent. or broken.

This lifter valve 5| is a four-way valve and is hydraulically connected to a lifter cylinder 59 The plunger 60 in this cylinder activates gears 58 to turn the lifter 5? upwardly about its hinge. When in its up or vertical position this lifter serves to determine the position of the squared block for splitting, and after the split it drops the multiple thickness block down to the right to be ejected from. the blocker. The lifter is an L-shaped piece viewed from the. side of the machine. It is hinged near the junction of the two legs. The short" leg is the one adapted to underlie the front edge of the slate block when the lifter is in its up position. This lower or short leg slopes down slightly in the direction from which the squared blocks approach, This permits a little tipping motion of the lifter before it actually lifts a split-off multiple thickness block. The movements of the parts are so adjusted that about the time a multiple thickness; block is completely separated from the rest of the squared block, pressure will be brought to bear on the bottom of the multiple thickness block by the lifter, lifting it and causing it to fall over against the still nearly vertical long leg of the lifter.

The gears 58 of the lifter not only turn the lifter and control the pusher valve it associated with the pusher as above described, but a projection on the hinge shaft of the lifter also controls a four-way ejector valve 6 4. This last valve controls a cylinder 63 which operates the ejector 62 working in conjunction with the lifter 5}]. The ejector valve 6 is also connected directly to. the hydraulic pressure line It, The cooperation of the lifter and ejector is such that as the lifter lowers a newly split-off multiple thickness block to horizontal, the ejector, whose lower end is pive oted on the frame of the machine, projects up in back of the block and, swinging to the right as viewed in Fig. 9, pushes the block off into the next conveyor. As the ejector pushes the block onto. the conveyor, the lifter returns to its vertical posi-' tion.

It is necessary to provide correct positioning of the sq ed b ock 35 in two dimensions with relation to the chisel. far as concerns the thickness of the multiple thickness block 38 to be split off, the lifter 51 in its upright position acts as a stop (see Fig. 9). The slate'coming to the blocker will be of various lengths, ranging from 12 to 24 inches. These lengths lie crossways of the ma-, chine in the direction of the chisel, and it is there, fore necessary that each block be pushed up against the chisel. It is also necessary to back up the blockto provide resistance against t he blows of the chisel. To perform these functions I provide an abutment cylinder ill (see Fig. 10). This is located on the opposite side of the ma 17 chine and opposite to the chisel. The piston I I6 of the abutment cylinder is connected to a plate I I1 guided by top and bottom slides I I8, the plate I I7 acting directly against the block. The cylinder is controlled by a hydraulic circuit so arranged and timed that as the pusher levers 55 and plates 52 are pushing the block in its final position as far as concerns the thickness of the block to be split oh, the abutment cylinder I I5 is pushing the block the proper distance toward the chisel. The chisel 39, when in retracted or overtravel position, is in back of a slot or opening in its housing plates 66, which are determinative of the position to which the block must be brought. It is desirable to have the block brought to within /4" of the housing plates and stop in that position, and that it be held there by the piston IIB of the abutment cylinder I I5. To stop the block in this position I provide an abutment stop 65 controlling the abutment stop valve 61 in the hydraulic circuit operating the abutment cylinder. The stop 65 is a bell crank lever pivoted just in back of an opening in the housing plate 66. One leg of this lever projects through the opening a half inch. Whenever the abutment cylinder piston II6 has pushed a slate block against the bell crank lever until it is from the housing plate, the other end of the bell crank lever will operate the valve 61 and cut off the supply of fluid for the hydraulic cylinder. This stops the block A" from the housing plate and in proper position to begin the splitting operation. The valve is a two-Way valve. In order to insure that the chisel stops operating when a split is completed and does not begin again until the new portion of the block or a new block is in position, I provide what I call a block pilot valve 4? near the housing plate (Figs. 11 and 12). This is controlled by a pilot bell crank lever I 20 which is adapted to project through the housing. This lever I28 can be in a somewhat elevated position above the level of the bottom of the slate block, and I prefer to locate it ahead of the chisel 39. Its pivot is horizontal and its leg extends to the right from the pivot point. Thus the leg projecting through an opening I I 9. in the housing plate (see Fig. 11) will be depressed only when there is slate to the left of the chisel, as viewed in Fig. 9. When there is no block at the chisel this bell crank will be released and the pilot valve operated. The pilot valve 4! is in the hydraulic circuit leading to the three-way valve 46. By reversing the flow of current in the threeway valve the operation of the hammer can be controlled. The circuit containing the abutment cylinder and abutment stop valve 61 also contains a fourway abutment valve 68 hereinafter described.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 11 and associated parts, if there is no block of slate in the blocker position to be split, the bell crank lever I20 of the block pilot valve 4'! projects outwardly through the Opening H9 in the abutment housing plate 65. This permits the fluid pressure from the line I3 to flow through the valve 41 to the left end of the valve 46. This in turn has the effect of preventing the flow of liquid to the four-way chisel valve 43 and therefore the hammer and chisel reciprocation stops.

When the bell crank lever I26 is in this released position, the three-way valve 45 sends pressure to the hand control valve 5I. The handle of this valve 5| when vertical is in its stopped or neutral position. Moving the handle to the right starts the upend mechanism, while moving 18 the handle in the other direction reverses the direction of movement of the upender. This reversing movement can be availed of to stop the machine if an emergency occurs at the time of starting.

It will be noted in Fig. 17 that the lever I20 is only a short distance prior to, i. e., at the left of, the chisel. When a block of slate is in position to be split by the chisel 39 of the blocker, the bell crank lever I20 therefore is acted on by the block of slate to depress the plunger of the block pilot valve 41. With this setting of the valve 41, fluid flows from the pressure line I3 through the valve 4'! to the right-hand end of the three-way valve 45. This pressure opens the larger passage shown on top of the valve on the left, and pressure is transmitted to the flow control valve 45. From here the pressure is transmitted to the valve 43. Reciprocati n of the slider M by the cylinder 42 is caused by the arrival of this pressure at the valve 43. The reciprocation of the slider and hammer is under the control of the valve rod 44.

Referring now to Figs. 12 and 17 of the drawings, when the slate block to be split in position in the blocker has been so reduced in thickness that it does not extend more than a quarter of an inch to the left of the chisel blade as viewed in Fig. 17or there is no block there at all--the reciprocation of the chisel is automatically stopped. The opening in the face plate 66 in this figure denotes the location of the chisel blade. As can be seen from Fig. 1'7, when the block positioned for cutting does not extend back past the center line of the chisel to lever I20, the end of the lever, impelled by its compression spring shown in Fig. 11, will push outwardly and allow the plunger of the pilot valve 4'! to come out. This causes an interchange of the fluid cir-,- cuits, such that the valve 46 shuts off the flow of liquid to the cylinder 42. The movements of the chisel and hammer thereupon stop. It will be seen that this valve 41 therefore performs the additional function that the hammer cannot operate unless slate is in the position to be split. Stopping the movement of the chisel and hammer also stops the operations of lifter valve BI and four-way abutment valve 68. v

The principal function of the two-way abutment valve 61 is to stop the flow of pressure to the abutment cylinder II5 when a slate block has been pushed up to the abutment plate 66. Loeating a block in this position depresses the abutment stop 65 operating the abutment valve til to shut off the flow of liquid to the abutment cylinder II5. This occurs when the block is still one-quarter of an inch from the surface of the abutment plate 66.

I will now describe the manner in which the lifter valve BI and four-way abutment valve 68 and associated parts are constructed and operated; Referring to Figs. 11 and 16, it will be noted that there are two arms 69 secured to the slider 4I extending downwardly to positions approximately opposite the valve BI, 68. These arms are rigid with relation to the slider and are spaced on opposite sides of the valves, as shown in Fig. 11. Extending between and carried by the arms 69 are wires I22. One wire is directly above the valve BI and the other directly above the valve 68. The relation of each wire I22 to each valve can be seen in Fig. 16. On each of these wires I22 are a pair of ta pcts I23, I24, which are offset laterally with relation to each other on the rod. The tappet I23 on each rod is normally to theleft'or the-waive, as seem-in Fig. 11 i'. e; longitudinailly of the *wireyantl= the other tappet" I24 is to the 'rightjas seen in'thi'ssame dimension. As shown in"Fig.'-16;-'which views the set-up in cross-section of the wire I22, there are lugs I25 and I26 carried by the valves (Hand 68, lugl2'5- beln'g in line-With tap et F23 and lug H6 being'in line with tappetfl." It Willbe seen th'at when-the slide moves" out of the cylinder it carries the tappet 'I23-'i'nto' contact withits lug I2 5; changing the dire'c'tion of fiow in valves- 'filand 68". When theslide WI returns in the "cylinder 42', the tappet I24 contacts the 1ug I26 of each valve aha-returns the "valve to its original setting; These-movements *o'ccur" only when the slide, hammer and chisel move far enough to bring oneof the tappets=nitocontact with its lug; 'The slide-'4I alsoha's rigidlyi'astene'd toit'afinger 56 which encircles the rod 44 "and! slides thereon. Upon extremes 'of'movement of thehamnrer; finger 56 will engage one of the stops fifia-on the rod 44 and move the-rod a 'sh'ort distance. This movement of the rod from one longitudinal po sition to the other issuffibienfi to reverse the valve-connections'in veils/e 43; It wil-l be seen, therefore, thatthrongli the-finger SS' the length of 'str'ok'e 'oi th hammencan be controlled.

'Ehe function of: the litter'val-ve GI is to oper ate-the lifter cylinder to take multiple thickness block's away'from the'chisel as soon as the blocks are split -o'li. This val ve causes theseoperations at the proper time'through tappets I 23, I24,- 'as aloove describedi 1 To understand this it should first be notedthah the hammer is mountedon the slidefl and the-forepart of thehamn-ier casing=car1ies'-the chisel'flgfl Thusthepositmn 'Of the sl-ide t'I is determined by thepo'sition of the chiselwith relation to the-slate blochf The positi'on o'f the' tappets being -determinedby the arms 69 and the slide, "it' will' 'be' seen t-hat'the tappets can be adjusted to -acton' th'e lifter valve at the-desired stages in the splitting" operation.- -I have 'found that the splitting" of the slate occurs about the" time the chisel'has" -pe'netratd' onehalf-to two-thirds of the-length of the-blocker sooner: The tappet I2 3 is therefore set to" move the lug I25 andcharige the direction 'of flow of the liquid in the valve 61 at this stage-of the splitting. This operates the liftr to lower the split-oil block. When the slide 4 I- has-moved back toward the cylinder EZ tIieta-ppet IM- hits the lug- I26 andrever'ses the now" through valve Ii-I once more returning the lifter to its up position' q 1 I w. r- 2.

The-'fu'nctio'n -of the-'ahutment-valve 68' is "to operate-theabutmentcylinderand to operate the pusher plates'and' their levers until allislatehas been ejected. from the blocking machine; These functionsall occur during the fovertravelff Dure ing the time the slate is being. split,.va1ve l0, under the control of the litter, causesljthe pusher plates to recede. .Theriseof the lifter resets valve 'w. -Inthemeantime valve as has changed so that abutment cylinder .II5I reverses. ...'I'his will" also .hold .the. pusherplates back. until ..the' tappet has. turned valve 68 to. position ,to move the pusher plates and the abutment plate inward. again... Thissets the. parts. for a new split. .When .the-- entire block has been: split off .and ejected, a-iiour-way valveJO operatedby the lifter 5! is connected iii-circuit through the upender valve 53 to a by-pass-val-vell for the pusher cylinder 54. This circuit .permits..the.. pusher levers -52 to swing-ireelybas the carrier. 3:3;is lowered to and raised from the loading position: This occurs" -when valve 41 changes the circuit in valve 46 to shut -fluid oli fromvalve- 43. 1 With thissetting; fluidnnder pressure is sent through the manualvalve '5 I. This: operates the upender cylinder 36 to lower the -carrier to the loading position; thus closing valve 53'. i'solates'pusher cylinder 54 from pressure. How-v ever; the pusher cylinderisleftaconnected return line through the abutment cylinder-" etrcuit and valve 68. In-the--meantime-thedownward movement of theslide carrying the pusher levers has caused valve "I l to connect-thestwo ends of cylinder 54' together; 'Ehispermits/the fluid to flow from one side of the cylinderto the other. This is necessary in order to suppl'yuextra liquid to permit the-oscillation of the piston in pusher cylinder 54 caused bythelever 55 as the carrier is rotated downward.

Roller conveyors and final splitting machines The multiple thickness blocks 38- coming from the blocking machine may be of various lengths and widths. I prefer'to Iocatea sorter where the block's come out oithis machine. If but one size of block is coming through, his, duty is confined to. anexamination of the blocks to sort out any that .are' not suitable. If, howevergthe'niill isimanufacturingtwo or more sizes of shingles', it is preferable to have ,a separate machine for splitting each length of shingle. This avoids the necessity of. adjusting a machine when the block length-changes, Each splitting -machin e or splitter 12. can take all, of thewidths com mercially used in the" length to'which it is adjusted. With a multiplicity' of lengths coming through,. I therefore provide a multiplicity of sorting roller conveyors 1 3, III, 1'5, I6. In Figs. 2 and 14 they are shown-arranged one above the other. ,The' sorter then has the dntyoi separating the different lengths onto the different conveyorssothat only one length goes to any one machine. 7 It has been found from= experiencethatwhile the soulping machine and the blockingmachine can keep approximate pace with each other, the number of splitting operations performed on the multiple thickness'blo'cks by the final splitting machine is so great that it'takes more than one such final splitter to split-all the product of one blocking'machi'ne. I find-that it takes about eight splitters to one sculper and" one blocker; if the blocker is making eighters Fig. 2 I have therefore showneightof the third type machines'fl dividedintoiour groups of two each. Each group takes the slate-chem length coming to it on one of the four conveyors 13 14; 15, I6 shown in 1-4: Three-of these conveyors can be portable and subject to rearrangement according to the work heing done.

The splitting machines to which the multiple thickness blocks come aresirnilar to the-Diocleing machine in that each hasonly one chisel 11, but they difier inthat the; blades .are broadel" and that the machine c a qu ment for splitting the blocks in half ofjtheir thickness as received from theblocker, (see l ig 13), 'Ifhi's kind ofpsplit. is obtained bycenteringequipment 18 of the same general type, as. shown in the Vincent F. Lake British Patent No: 229,158.; The

centering operation. is. performed duringthe .end of the overtravel and the release oi the centering devices occuisjust after the chisel enters the slate. Theconstruction of.;the center -line splitter is claimed inmy copending application Ser. No. 202,480, filed December 23, 1950, now

Patent No. 2,626,597, dated January 27, 1953.

The operator at each splitter picks up a multiple thickness block with his left hand and swings it into the machine, approximately to the center. The machine then centers it and splits it into equal parts. The operator lays the left-hand part down and the machine centers and splits the one on the right. If these are now the final thickness, they are laid on a gravity conveyor 19 at the right and slide down to the middle of the battery of machines opposite the trimming machines 12!. If the thickness is not the one desired, the procedure is repeated until it is the one desired, and the last pair is laid in the conveyor. Then the operator goes back to the left-hand pile, picks up the piece on the top of the pile, splits it and lays the result on the conveyor, then picks up another on that pile and repeats.

Shingle gravity conveyors As shown, there are four shingle gravity conveyors 19 to assemble the final shingles 40 at two points 80 midway on the battery of splitters. One pair of gravity conveyors is on the outside of the four machines located on one side of the block conveyors from the sculping machine, and the other pair is on the outside of the remaining f-our machines located on the other side of the block conveyors. Each pair of shingle conveyors carries the shingles to a midpoint opposite a trimming or dressing machine Hi.

It is desired to call attention to one important effect of the particular arrangement of splitters and conveyors described above. It provides a simple sorting of the shingles as to both widths and lengths Without delaying the operations in any way. Thus the operator between the splitter and the sorting conveyors 'l316 separates the blocks to go to the four groups of splitters according to length. The block gravity conveyors 13-46 make it possible for each splitting machine operator to put shingles of his special length on the shingle gravity conveyor 19 in piles according to width. As a result, the dresser receives the shingles in piles sorted as to both length and width. If desired, each group of two splitters can be located with one machine on each side of the sorting conveyors. In this case one of the machines in the group can take only blocks of certain widths and the other machine will take the other widths. In this way the variety of widths of shingles reaching one dressing machine can be minimized at the expense of an increase in the number of lengths of shingles reaching that dressing machine.

Each trimmer can be a duplex one, i. e., it can trim a shingle first on two sides and then on the other two, all on one pass through the machine. If desired, the slate also can be punched or given scalloped edges instead of straight edges in these trimming machines. Each trimmer is set for a definite length and width of shingle. If other sizes come through they can be set aside and allowed to accumulate until it becomes worth While to change the setting of the trimmer.

The layout just described, using about twenty men, can produce about two hundred squares per day of medium-size shingles. It can produce shingles in four different sizes at the same time. It has the full range of sizes required for the slate shingle roofing market.

If it were required to produce some slate .veneers, two of the splitters might be designated 22 for that work. The first machine would take one inch or two inch blocks and reduce them to quarter inch blocks. The second machine equipped with a sensitive fingered blade would be used to reduce the quarter inch blocks to blocks one-sixteenth of an inch.

It is also possible to use the sculper for making sheets thirty-two by sixteen inches, which is the size contemplated for stucco and slate support.

It is believed that the above plan and process provide for making all the sizes of split slate shingles for which at present there is any contemplated use, except for the very small sizes for tile work.

It will be seen that it is essential in my process to have more than one type of operation performed on the slate by my various chisel splitting machines, and that the advance determination and sawing of one of the dimensions of the finished product, in combination with use of mechanical splitting machines for both the other dimensions, are required to give my increased efficiency. I have also found that speed of production makes it extremely important to convey the material from one machine to another, as with my machines the splitting consumes only a minor part of the time. This makes it possible to speed up the production many times beyond that in the hand process which history shows has been practised for centuries.

As far as concerns reduction of waste of raw material, in addition to the reduction due to the use of machine splitting by means of chisels, I find that the following features of my process and mechanism have a definite,effect in reducing the waste. The advance determination of one of the final dimensions by means of sawing in a plane that is perpendicular to both the primary and secondary planes of cleavage saves all unnecessary loss in that dimension. This also makes it possible in the sculping machine to deal with a smaller block in splitting in the direction of the grain. This, in turn, taken in connection with the use of operating chisels on both the sawn edges of the strip, makes it possible to minimize loss from faults due to the grain. The turning up of the block from the sculping machine so that the planes of cleavage are vertical, minimizes breakage at the blocking machine.

It should be pointed out that there is considerable saving in my process, not only in that it is adapted to .be carried out on blocks that have been stored an indefinite length of time, but also in that the required manhandling of the raw material is kept to a minimum because the mechanism is adapted to deal simultaneously with the making of slate of a number of difierent sizes, as will inevitably occur in dealing with the natural raw product.

I claim: 1. In a process for producing slate shingles or the like from quarried slabs, the steps of sawing the quarried slab crossways of the grain at intervals approximating one dimension of the shingle other than the thickness, then sculping the sawn strip simultaneously from both sides at points opposite each other in the direction of the grain at intervals approximating the second dimension other than the thickness by means of powerdriven chisels, and thereafter splitting the result ing squared block to shingle thickness.

= ,2: In a process for producing slate shingies or the like from quarried slabs;-the stepsof sawing thefquarried-slab crossways of the grain at intervals approximatingone dimension of the shingle t er tha he. hickn s-swa s e n Strip from both sides simultaneously at points opposite each other inthe direction oi the grainat interas arb d im ns t Second hafi 949 h desired shingle io ther than its thickness, spli ing theresulting squared block'to an even factor mulme c the sea ed,sh nsl fliiskess a t, th 'l t igsl neh m ipl t ck e s P QQP t final by repeatedly splitting it in hal f.

,7 3;. The,proces s of producing slate shingles or the like froma quarriedslab comprising the steps Qfdetermining themost profitable dimensions of anal products to bepbtained horn" a' particular quarries slab in the'lightpof any; imperfections in it; thblock at right angles 'tc ithe'grain 1i; accordance, with that determination, cutting the sawn stripfoi' these'corid dimension by a sculping"machinecontainingpower-'driven'chisels operating against both'sawn edges simultaneously at points opposite each other, standingsuch block on edge with its primary cleavage plane substan'-- tially' parallel to gravity and splitting the block intdev'en factor multiplesof the desired shingle thickness; and finally splitting such multiple thickness blocks to the final thickness by rea di sn n heb ptk i alf.

In a processjforprdducing slate shingles or the like from qiiarri'eiislabs, the steps of first sawing strips from a slab in a direction substan tially perpendicular to the primary} planes of cleavage and the grain, then producing squared bl'ocks b'y' splitting a strip'i'n the dire ion of the gain by hwr' drii enchisels'operatin g'from both sides" of the' sawn s'tr'ip' atpointsopposite each other, and thereafter turning the squared blocks with their primary planes of cleavag'ev'ertical and splitting on those primary plane's'of cleavage from one edge only. v v

I 5. In a machine process for producing slate shingles" or the like from a quarried slab having rimary planes of cleavage and a; grain substantially at right angles tothose primaryv planes, the steps of forming the slab into strips by repeated orsimultaneous'satving of two'c'uts'running across the grain and planes of cleavage, spacedapart a distance equal to the desired. shingle length, and thereafter reducing the sawn strips to shingles by a plurality of power-driven chisel operations as follows: reducing the sawn strips to squared blocks by the use of chisels operating from opposite points on, the sawn edges located so as to produce adimension substantially equal tothe shingle width, thereafter reducing the squared block to anc or more blocksequ-al in thickness to an even factor multiple of the desired shingle thickness bychisel means. operating from one side in the primary planes of cleavage, and then reducing the multiple thickness block to pieces of shingle thickness by splitting the slate repeatedly from the center in the primary planes of cleavage.

, 6 In a machine process for producing slate shingles or the like from quarried slabs, the steps of sawing the slabs crossways of the grain at distances approximating the shingle length, sculping the sawn strips in a splitting machine by simultaneous power-driven chisels hammering from both sawn edges at points opposite each other in the direction of the grain at distances approximatingthe shingle width, splitting the resulting squared blocks to an even factor multiple of the shingle. thickness. a: second splitting machine and splittin the- .multiple; blocks+-;to shingle thickness on a plurality ofothersplitting machines; g t

"7. In a machine process for producingslate shingles or the like from-aquarriedslab, thejsteps of determining the most economical-lengthsoi shingle which can 'b e" produced from the'slab with the'lengths running with the grain, sawingthe slab crossways of" the grain into stripswhose widths apprbximate the various lengthsithu's determined, sculpin s'uch sawn strips in a machine having power-driven chisel's" operating sirnulta neously from both" sawn edges'at' points opposite each other to produce s uared block's'wh'o's'e di m e'ns ion across the grain approximates thevi'iiith of theshingles, splitting these squared blocks on a blocking machine on the primary planes of cleavage to r'educe' 't'hem' to blocks whose thick-- ness is an even factor multiple of the desired shingle thickness, distributing these Ifililtiple thickness blocks among a pluralityo'f other splitting machinesaccording to the shingle lengths of the blocks and then reducing't-he blocks to shingle thickness by splitting them repeatedly from. the center in the primary planes of cleavage. s

8. In a machine process for producing slate shingles or the like from quarried slabs, the steps of sawing the slabs crossways of the grain to give the length of the shingles, using a mechanical conveyor to carry the resulting strips into a sculping machine, sculping the strips by powerdriven chisels in the machine operating'on both sides of the strips at points opposite each other to give them the width of the shingles', transporting the resulting squared blocks to a block'- ing machine by means of a mechanical conveyor, splitting the squared block in the blokirigril'aJ- chine b power-driven chise'lz'rleans operating" on one face of the block to produce a block whose thickness is'an even factor multipl'e'of the shingle thickness, andthen using mechanical 'conveyor means to carry the multiple thickness blocks to one or more third type mechanical splitting machines, and reducing the blocks to shingle thickness on those machines by repeatedly splitting the material in the center.

9. In a machine process for producinglslate shingles or the like from quarried slabs accord 'ing to claim 8, having the material lying on, a primary cleavage face' in the scul'ping' machine but standing on a primary cleavage edge in the blocking and final splitting machines. I 10. Apparatus for producing slate shingles or the like from quarried slabs, comprising saw means adapted to cut across the grain of quarry slabs, producing sawn strips, a mechanical splitting machine adapted to sculp the swim strips in the direction of the grain, producing squared blocks, and a second mechanical splitting machine adapted to split the squared block on the primary planesof cleavage into a block whose thickness is an even factor multiple of the desired final thickness, in combination with a third mechanical splitting machine adapted to split the multiple block to the thickness of the final product desired.

11. Apparatus for producing slate shingles or 'the like from quarried slate according to claim 10 up-e'nd the squared block with its primaryshav- 

